Unrequited
by SweetMiseryBusiness
Summary: —Ever since the beginning, he knew exactly what he was getting into. Yet fell in love with her regardless.


Ｕｎｒｅｑｕｉｔｅｄ

* * *

A crush. A mere innocent crush which started at the age of ten. Before then, he hadn't known what a girl actually was. Well, he did get a gist of what being one meant. — Being a girl meant you had to wear dresses, have crazy long hair and scream at bugs.

The first few girls he had met were the same age as himself. —They were incredibly loud, annoying, spoiled and creepy. —He hadn't even bothered to converse with one as he was afraid he'd turn into one of the monsters.

It was at the age of ten when he met the sweet bartender thanks to his little brother. She was much more mature and older than the rest— yet she was nothing like Dandan. —She was sweet and always kind when he and Luffy visited her.

Several months passed. —It wasn't long until he noticed himself becoming nervous whenever she walked by. Blood would rush to his head, causing several shades of red to become visible at his little cheeks. Even a simple glance sent the young boy's heart rate to skyrocket.—It felt as if he had just ran a mile and back.

Just the thought of her caused butterflies to scatter inside.

_Had he been going insane?_

—Every little thing he felt whenever she was close by eventually sent the boy into a stage of confusion.

_—Just what was causing this?_

It was then that Ace concluded that _she_, Makino, was a demon or a magician of some sort. —Could she read his thoughts? Did she know everyone's weaknesses? Maybe she could kill with a single glare? —The thought sent shivers down the ten year old's spine.—And from then on, he kept his distance and fled whenever the female approached.

**"Luffy! You gotta keep away from her, alright?"**

** "Wha—?! But Ace, she's so nice—"**

** "That's what she wants you to believe, idiot! ****—Now shut yer mouth and do as I say!"**

Of course, Luffy did his utmost best to do as his older brother had told him, yet the bartender knew exactly what to do and say to make Luffy crack. —Not only did the rubber boy forget his brother's orders, he also became much more attached to the female.

—Several days passed until the young boy overheard Dandan speaking of the boy's silly crush on the bartender. —Laughter filled the room as she spoke of it being temporary and eventually fading away in time.

A crush? What exactly was that?

— _Was it an illness? _

_What was the cure?_

—Thoughts swirled around his tiny brain for many days. —Though the mention of it being temporary relieved him so.

Days, months and years passed._ —Nothing._ What he felt when he was ten had still continued. Though all wasn't as obscure anymore. —He knew this feeling wasn't going anywhere, and he accepted it. —Seeing her didn't make him flee for the tree house anymore, nor did it make him stutter as much as he used to.

Though whenever he came across the sound of her voice, angel-like smile and sweet aroma, his cheeks would burn a bright pink and his heart would continue to jump repetitively within his chest.

_ —By the time he hit 16, he knew he was in love._

Not that his feelings mattered. He knew someone like her who walked within the light could never love someone like himself. —_A demon._

—A demon incapable of being loved and whose hands were covered in nothing but the blood of those who dared to declare their hate of a man by wishing death upon those who shared even an ounce of his blood.

_This was his fate. _

_ His curse._

_ His life._

His fate was decided the very second he was brought into this world. —_So why?_ Why had a monster like himself allowed himself to fall so deeply in love…_with_ _her…?_

As much as he prayed for it to be gone, his feelings were impossible to erase. —Like the demon's blood he cursed. —Like the oxygen he sometimes wished would leave and free him from his fate. _…Why wouldn't they just go away?_

—Yet another year passed and the day of departing his home village had finally come.

_**"Thanks for everything!"**_

The message he had always wanted to speak was finally conveyed. He had wished to leave without regrets as he hadn't a clue of what the future had in store for him. —Death wasn't impossible. Nor was getting lost in nowhere or being forgotten. —He may never be able to see his home again. —So he promised himself to live without a single regret and speak of everything that was needed to be said. — And he did just that. Though there was one thing he kept within the depths of his almost broken heart. —As much as he wished to shout it out, he held his tongue.

_—He knew it was for the best._

To trouble her by telling her of how he felt? _No thanks_. He would never think of pushing his feelings onto the woman he loved.

_He knew she didn't feel the same…And she probably never will._

—_Ever since the beginning, he knew exactly what he  
was getting into. Yet fell in love with her regardless._


End file.
